After I had quickly finished my packed lunch, Ajin accompanied me to the Track & Field training area. I told Ajin that I could go by myself as I'd been there before and I didn't want to keep bothering her by having her babysit me all the time, but Ajin insisted that she come along.
"Hey, Jenn! You are here!"
Captain Lee spotted us first and waved. Visibly excited, he actually walked towards us rather than just waiting for us to get to him.
"Good afternoon, Captain Lee", Ajin greeted first.
"Oh, you are here too. Hi, Ajin"
"I thought I'd accompany Jenn here and see why you were making such a scene this morning"
"Hey, I'm sorry about that, but that bonehead really gets on my nerves, and the other nasty girl too"
":Sigh: I'm sorry my classmates caused you trouble"
"It's alright Ajin, it's not your fault, anyways, Jenn"
"Aye aye, Captain"
"I know you turned us down before but we have a special situation here now"
"Oh? Actually-"
I then noticed Ajin's eyes were telling me to not mention that it was she who forgot to hand in my paper. Ever since I started to live as Jenn I came to realize that I've become much more perceptive than before. Ajin probably didn't want to show the Captain that she messed up. I got your back Ajin, don't worry about it.
"Er… yeah, I changed my mind at the end after all. I'm sorry about that"
"Well, I was pretty bummed that you pulled out. I thought we could have you join and participate in the seasonal competition for us"
"Sorry"
"Well, it is what it is. However, an unexpected opportunity came up"
"Oh?"
"I shouldn't say it was a good thing, as one of our members got injured, but this paves the way for you to join us for the competition"
"So… you are saying I can be registered as a substitute?"
"Bingo. Not for all events though. For individual events, we will just miss out and that's it. But for the girl's 1,600m relay event, we need four members to participate but we now only have three runners"
"I've never run a relay though. You haven't even seen me run either. The only thing I did last time was try out some long jump"
"I know, it involves different techniques and practice, but from what I can tell, you would be the perfect fit for the final spurt with those legs. Just grab the baton and kick off"
"Captain, you are putting unreasonable pressure on Jenn", Ajin interjected.
"It's up to Jenn to decide isn't it?"
Ajin looked like she wanted to say something more but held back.
"So Jenn, yes or no?"
":Sigh: I guess I could give it a go. When is the competition?"
"This Saturday"
"Jenn, you don't have to-", Ajin tried to stop me again. I appreciated that she was being protective and all that, but this time I decided that I would give it a go.
"It's ok, Ajin. I think I can manage. Just this once though"
"Yes!", the Captain pumped his fist in the air as if he'd just won a match or something.
"But this is really sudden. Even if I start today we'd only have 5 days to practice before the event on Saturday. Are you sure it's gonna be okay?"
"I have no doubt you can sprint at least as well as anyone, so we will focus more on relaying the batons and timing things with the teammates"
"Ok"
"I guess it can't be helped then. I will stay behind with you for the practices, Jenn", Ajin added with a sigh.
"Eh? That's very nice of you, but don't you normally have some things to help out at home after school?"
"I should be okay this week. Don't worry about it"
"That's great! Ajin could be taking videos so we can study the footage after practice runs. Could you do that for us, Ajin?"
"Whatever you say, Captain"
After the brief meeting with Captain Lee during lunchtime, there were further surprises in the afternoon as our homeroom teacher brought in a new student.
"So, everyone. This is the new transfer student who will be joining our class today. We also had Jenn join us recently and thanks to everyone she seems to have settled fine. Please welcome this young man as well and I'm sure you'd all get along well. So, you may introduce yourself now"
There were whispers all around the classroom. This was very unusual. I mean my joining this class in the middle of the semester was weird already, but this boy's transferring here even later than me, not to mention that a class taking two transfer students itself is already unusual as well. I was a bit spaced out thinking about the competition that Captain Lee was talking about earlier during lunch, but I was intrigued enough for this occasion to pay attention.
In any case, though, I guess it was all okay, at least for all the girls in the class. He was a handsome boy. He wasn't as tall or well built as Hechan or Captain Lee, but he looked like someone who just walked out of a shoujo manga, an unrealistically good-looking, smart, and popular boy.
"Nice to meet you, everyone. My name is Woobin and I'm very happy to finally be here and join this class"
'Finally be here'? What's that supposed to mean?
"Where are you coming from?", some random boy asked him.
"South East High, by the South East Riverbank"
There were increasingly louder murmurs in the classroom now.
'Isn't that where Jenn comes from?'
'Why would someone move from South East High to here?'
'Has his family gone broke and he couldn't afford to go there anymore?'
'Poor boy, he looks so adorable as well'
"Ahem, I'm sure you guys will have a chance to talk more during the recess after this class. For now, let's get started with today's lesson. Woobin, you may take the seat over there"
The teacher pointed toward an empty seat by the corridor side of the classroom, the far opposite side of my seat by the window. Woobin just nodded his head in acknowledgment and went to his seat.
:Rrrrring:
That was the bell signaling the end of the class. We had 20 minutes of recess time and as expected, many people, some boys, but mostly girls, were swarming Woobin by his desk and battering him with questions. Much like how it was with me when I returned to this class as Jenn.
"Pssst, Jenn, aren't you gonna go over and talk to him?"
Jihee sitting in front of me asked.
"No. Why would I?"
"He's from your old school"
"I don't know him though. There are hundreds of students in that school, a lot less than here but that's still a lot"
"Hey, he's looking at you though"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just cut it out"
"No, I mean it. Oh, he just got up and he's walking over here"
"Huh?"
As I turned to check out Woobin, he indeed was walking towards me as Jihee said. Did he really know me? I had absolutely no idea who he was though. This could get awkward and I might need to explain the whole memory loss thing.
"Long time no see, Jenn"
"Er, hi"
"You look as pretty as ever"
Yuk. I don't know about other girls, maybe this shoujo manga dude saying such things to some girls would have flustered them, but for me, it just came off as being slimy.
"I'm sorry, but I don't remember you, to be honest"
"So the rumor was true indeed. You had an amnesia from an accident. Are you alright? Did you get hurt anywhere?"
"No, I'm fine"
Rumors? It sounded like there were some words going around in South East High about me after my sudden departure from there.
"I'm glad to hear that you are okay"
"So… nice to meet you, again, I guess?"
"Indeed. I have waited a long time for this"
"What are you, a stalker?", Hechan suddenly butted in as he was sitting just behind me and listening to our conversation.
"Hello, there. No, I'm not a stalker, just an admirer"
"Just how in the hell can you talk like that with a straight face?"
"Actually, I would like to ask you for a favor. Would you be so kind as to swap the seat with me so I can sit closer to Jenn?"
Fack. This shoujo manga boy is creepy as fuck. This was a lose-lose situation. I don't want Hechan to sit behind me, but I don't want this weirdo to sit behind me either.
"Would you be so kind as to fuck off?"
Hechan replied as he rose from his seat to stand tall. He was a big dude and probably around 10cm taller than this Woobin boy.
":Sigh: and I thought this could be resolved peacefully", Woobin muttered.
"I can resolve it for you right now, but it won't be peaceful"
"Well, let's ask Jenn then. Jenn, who would you prefer to have sat behind you in this seat?"
"Whatever you say, or she says, this is MY seat and I'm not going anywhere", in other circumstances Hechan might have listened to me, but now that it came to be a confrontation between him and another boy there was no way he was going to back down.
"So, what do you say, Jenn?", Woobin ignored Hechan and asked me again.
Jesus, this boy's getting troublesome.
"You know what? Why don't you swap seats with me? I will sit where you are now and you can sit here in front of Hechan 'cause it looks like you guys will be best buddies soon"
"Haha, that does sound like Jenn I know"
"Hey, you may have been friends with Jenn before but it's clear she doesn't remember you now. Maybe you are being a bit too pushy here"
Suddenly Danbi was here to rescue me. Thank you very much.
"Yeah, and Jenn, please don't swap the seat. I like sitting in front of you", Jihee chimed in.
"Who the fuck do you think you are bonehead, asking Hechan to move?"
Even Soojin was ganging up on him now. Well, it wasn't for my sake but at least it helped.
Now all eyes were on Woobin. Do the other girls still see him in the same light as just a few minutes before? Is he a good protagonist from a shoujo manga, or is he just a good-looking villain? Do they think he still looks and sounds cool? Welp, probably some girls dig that, not me though. Hang on, I don't dig any guys either actually, but anyways…
"It seems I have caused unnecessary stress to you, Jenn. I'm sorry. I will go back to my seat, but I look forward to being in the same class with you, again"
Again… so he was from my old class back in South East High. Is he really a stalker type? Did he transfer here just to chase me? What on earth is going on?
With that, Woobin turned around and cooly went back to his seat as if nothing happened, but I knew this was only the start of something that would get even more complicated soon.